Milestones
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: Everyone needs to overcome them to get somewhere, and Max's quest in being a trainer is no exception.
1. The First

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Character Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

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**Milestones  
I – The First**

Before he turned ten, he had decided a lot of things.

He had decided he would be a Gym Leader like his father. That changed when he witnessed his father's defeat; even at the hands of a trainer he had come to admire and respect, that defeat set a threshold that he had to transcend. And so he decided he would be a _better_ Gym leader than his father. And that decision stayed.

He had decided what his starter Pokemon would be in the Winter before his sister obtained her license. And that decision didn't change when he met them all: his sister's Torchic, his idol's Treeko, and his mentor's Mudkip. It just made him love all those Pokemon more – and confirmed the choice he had made.

He had decided which regions to visit, which leagues to enter and in what order. Hoenn first, of course, and then Kanto: the two regions he knew best. Johto was third on his list: the place his sister had chosen for her walkabout and her dream's fulfilment.

He had even decided a few of the Pokemon he wanted to catch. A Ralts who called across the country to him. A Shroomish running amuck through a wild forest. A Shuppet that laughed and loved tricks.

But when the time for that first decision came, he felt hesitation in that decision he had made years ago – and then a sense of excitement and fulfilment as he took his first step as a licensed Pokemon trainer with his new Treeko by his side.

Doing something wasn't the same as deciding to do it, but he still felt that decision he had made before was the right one, and he didn't regret it.


	2. The Second

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Character Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

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**Milestones  
II – The Second**

Thinking about training a Pokemon was very different to actually training one.

He'd thought it out perfectly: avoid the bug types that littered the grass near the forest. Avoid the swooping flying types looking for food and prey. Stick to the Zigzagoon and Poochyena by the roadside where his Treeko could easily pick up experience points. If he managed to stumble upon a rare Wingull, then so much the better; he wasn't looking at catching one, however the part water typing would be useful once Treeko learnt a grass type move.

Except Treeko was itching for a challenge, unlike Max who was playing it safe. Treeko was eager to take on passing trainers before being prepared – trainers who brought on Taillow or Torchic or the occasionally more experienced Pokemon – and losing.

And so Max found his legs got a better workout than his strategies, and he watched them falling apart before his eyes and Treeko was beaten down again and again, growing just a little each time. But then Max learnt to adapt, and he changed his approached, cheered his partner on…

And, then, finally, Treeko beat a Torchic despite the odds, and Max had to say he was happy with what he got.


	3. The Third

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Character Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

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**Milestones  
III – The Third**

Max had been planning to pick up the Ralts he had befriended all those years ago before Summer's heat struck, but Treeko took a few weeks more to learn Sunny Day and was sick for a week more from heat exposure. So Max found himself faced with crossing the desert at the worst possible time – or waiting until Autumn for an encounter for which he had already waited years for.

Treeko was strong against the Rock Pokemon in the desert, and not weak against the Ground types, but the sun and the sand would beat him down still and Max knew it was too big a risk to try all alone. What he needed, he thought, was a Pokemon resistant to those weather effects – or one that could use them to their advantage.

And when he came across a Clefairy with the Magic Guard ability, he couldn't believe his luck. He had never imagined one in his team – but he crashed down to earth when the star Pokemon made for an easy capture.

It hadn't gotten away, sure, but he had a long road of training ahead it seemed.


	4. The Fourth

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Calender Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

Though I'm running _way_ behind on the Advent Calender one…

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**Milestones  
IV – The Fourth**

Ralts was a Kirlia when Max finally arrived, and a strong Kirlia too. Unfortunately for Max, it was also a mad Kirlia.

She didn't seem to recognise him at first, and he told the tale of how they met with a Gardevoir and a Gallade watching on. He saw their guarded expressions, saw the Kirlia's face change from unrecognition to pure anger – and then Treeko was knocking him down with a Pound attack, a Charge Beam crashing over their heads.

He would have been surprised she had learnt Charge Beam in the wild – but there were more important matters to deal with at the time. For Kirlia had launched Magical Leaf, and Treeko was attacking right back with Bullet Seed. The Gardevoir and Gallade stared at him, eyes boring into his own. _What are you going to do?_ They seemed to ask.

Max didn't get it. Not until he felt the echoes of loneliness, and then he understood. 'I didn't forget you!' he cried, rushing into the battle, feeling the sting as the attacks were forced to other paths. 'I swear I didn't!'

He kept repeating the words like a mantra, forcing them out when she gripped him with a Confusion attack and Treeko itched, refraining from defending a trainer he had become so close to only because of said trainer's command. But, finally, the Confusion loosened its hold, and Kirlia's glare of hanger became a less biting stare.

She was ready to listen, and the misunderstanding that had led her to be so angry was cleared. Because how could the then-Ralts have known how many years would lie between them when Max had never told her.


	5. The Fifth

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Calender Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

Well, the Advent Calender failed the whole before Christmas thing, but I can still finish it. :D

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**Milestones  
V – The Fifth**

Max had expected Ralts to have more experience than his other Pokemon, and he'd been counting on that for some advanced training.

He hadn't been counting on an evolved Kirlia or her overwhelming prowess though.

Clefairy was yet to make it through a single hit. And Treeko had managed to dodge one in five Charge Beam attacks – only to be hammered by the other four. And Charge Beam was such a _weak_ electrical attack as well…

Treeko took it as a challenge and strove to outclass Kirlia. But Clefairy was not cut out for that sort of training. She ran, and it took twenty minutes of wheedling and Oran Berries before she came back out of the thicket. And there Max faced a new dilemma.

He certainly didn't want Clefairy running off again, but there was no way Kirlia could train with her. Not at this stage anyway. Not when Clefairy's best attack was barely a tickle. And while Kirlia was pushing Treeko as hard as he could take, Kirlia herself wasn't gaining any experience at all.

He had three Pokemon on three very different levels, and only one of them was getting a good day's training in.


	6. The Sixth

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Calender Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

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**Milestones  
VI – The Sixth**

Clefairy found a Torkoal who cried smoke just like Ash's Torkoal did. It seemed smaller than Ash's though, and when he accidentally made Clefairy mad, her Double-Slap pushed him into a rock and made him cry again.

He followed her anyway, right to Max. And he came again the next day too, showing off an Ember that didn't even bother Treeko to an amused Clefairy. Max asked if she liked him. She blushed, stamped her foot and tumbled into an accidental Rollout attack that left her back bruised.

Max offered the Torkoal a spot on his team; Torkoal accepted, and once Clefairy's bruise was gone, she and he practised together. Her Double Slap and Rollout on rocks. His Ember and Tackle. He showed off to her. She did better than him. He tried harder. She tried harder still.

They made a good pair, and when they were a little stronger, Max looked forward to training them against each other too.

Now all he had to do was find a way to challenge Kirlia – otherwise her first defeat would be a heartbreaking one.


	7. The Seventh

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Calender Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

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**Milestones  
VII – The Seventh**

When Torkoal won his first battle, Max set his sights on a Gym Badge. He considered going back to Rustboro City but then decided against it. He set his sights on Flannery's Gym instead.

He remembered how it had first been when he had come, travelling with Ash. Holes in the battle field. No judge to speak of. But now it was running smoothly, and Flannery wore a confident grin as she greeted him.

'I remember you,' she said, 'but don't think I'm going to go easy on you.'

It was a three-on-three Pokemon battle, and suddenly Max could hear his heart thudding in his chest. It wasn't his first battle; it wasn't the first Gym he had visited. And he'd planned his strategy with care, taking everything he'd learnt from Ash and May – and from his own journey.

And yet he was still nervous. Not like Flannery who sent her Slugma in to fight his Torkoal. Max had used Torkoal first, because Torkoal was another fire type and his moves wouldn't be as effective. But he'd been banking on Smoke Screen and Iron Defence, and those moves had come through for him in felling Slugma – and tiring the Macargo that came next.

Clefairy finished the job with the Rollout she had recently perfected, but fell to Torkoal who came after. Max considered his remaining choices, then erred on the side of caution and sent out his Kirlia – who demolished Torkoal with a single Confusion.

'That Kirlia is far stronger than your other Pokemon,' Flannery said later, as she handed him his badge. 'How do you train her?'

He confessed he didn't. She advised the twins at Mossdeep City – and suggested taking the cart over the mountain and renting a ride from Fortree.

Max hadn't been planning on leaving his Pokemon anywhere to train, but there didn't seem to be much of a choice.


	8. The Eighth

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Calender Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

This one is over the wordcount, but I've got spare words from my other drabbles to pitch in. :D All thanks to my Bug Pokemon.

And I should have mentioned it before, but the world I have Max in is more anime-like than game-like, since the anime characters were able to find Pokemon in places that they wouldn't be able to in the games. Hence how Max found Clefairy...and some others later on.

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**Milestones  
VIII – The Eighth**

Max wondered if he should try for the badge in Fortree before renting a flight on the Pidgeot express, but when he heard it was a four on four, he decided against it. What Flannary had said stuck with him, of how overpowered Kirlia was compared to his other Pokemon. If he did win, it wouldn't be because of the trainer he'd become, but the Pokemon she was.

The grassy plains were a good training spot though. There were a lot of wild birds there, and Zigzagoon and Linoone as well. Treeko worked on his disadvantage against flying types and Pin Missle. Torkoal worked on his fire attacks and his Iron Defence. Clefairy continued working on Rollout – which was, as a rock type move, strong against flying types. Kirlia gave Treeko a run for his money when he looked to be getting too comfortable.

Max thought about new possible moves for his Pokemon. Clefairy in particular needed a wider diversity; apart from Double-Slap and Rollout, she also knew Growl and Follow Me. Neither of them were particularly useful – Clefairy was too cute for Growl to have any real effect, and Follow Me…well, he hadn't gotten into any double battles yet.

He pulled out the Pokedex entry and scrolled through it. Metronome was risky; May's Munchlax used it, sometimes with disastrous results. Hyper Beam would be a good one, but she would need to be fully evolved first. An elemental punch or a fighting type move would be good as well. Once she gained a little more experience, she'd be able to learn Wake-Up Slap – but Clefairy needed a long range attack as well.

He considered. Hyper Beam could be a long range move when – if – Clefairy evolved. Rollout was a close range one, making good use of the round body. Ice Punch might be good; it could help reduce the friction in Rollout if used on the field as well. But Clefairy didn't have a strong punch; Wake-Up Slap would be the best, if not particularly strong, move. And another close-range. Meteor Mash was a good long range move, but it was far off for Clefairy's level.

He noted them all, deciding it partially rested on Clefairy, and partially on what new Pokemon he managed to catch. And, it turned out, Clefairy mastered Wake Up Slap in time to help him capture a Skarmory before his flight.


	9. The Ninth

**A/N:** Written for the Advent Calender Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).

Another over-worded drabble. I'm running low on reserves at this rate. :D

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**Milestones  
IX – The Ninth**

Skarmory was shrewd and calculating, and Max found he had no trouble at all in communicating with it – for the most part. They thought with one mind: what would make Skarmory strongest and most versatile was what they both focused on.

Max, on the recommendation of the Pidgeot pilot, let Skarmory fly with them partway to Mossdeep City, and he checked the Pokedex data first off. Skarmory already knew Steel Wing and Aerial Ace: two very useful moves he was evidentially very proud of.

Max approved wholeheartedly, remembering all the different ways Ash had used Swellow's Aerial Ace. But Skarmory had no long range attacks: Sand Attack, which wasn't too useful once in the air, and Spikes, another ground type move – which wasn't so bad, he reflected, since it would affect any grounded Pokemon. The problem was, it would affect all his other Pokemon, as none of them had the ability Levitate.

'Do you want to keep Spikes?' he asked curiously.

The Skarmory shook his head, opening his beak and letting out a particularly loud squawk.

'Long range?' Max guessed.

A nod.

'Hyper Beam?'

A shake of the head.

'Hmm…' Max checked what other attacks emitted from the mouth. 'Dark Pulse?'

Skarmory gave him a look that said he was being stupid.

'Your type then?' he asked.

Skarmory nodded.

_A steel type long range attack then. _'Flash Cannon?' he guessed.

Another squawk, this time approving.

'So you want to learn Flash Cannon.' Max wondered how he could learn that. Maybe a Steel type specialist could help. Or he'd find a book on it at the Pokemon Centre. 'Stat changing or attacking for the last move?'

Both had their advantages, and Skarmory was one of the few Pokemon who had good stat-changing moves. Moves like Metal Sound, that drastically reduced the opponent's defence, or Agility, that improved speed. But Skarmory still had one major weakness: Fire.

Fighting types could be countered by Aerial Ace – except when the attacker was something like Clefairy, who rolled too easily to be caught by sharp wings, and was no Fighting type Pokemon. But Skarmory's only defence against fire-based attacks was its manoeuvrability in air – which Agility would greatly improve. Once Skarmory learnt Focus Blast, that could also be of help in intersecting attacks.

'Agility?' he asked finally.

Skarmory considered that, then agreed. And Max had a moveset to teach and perfect. He wondered how to on the rest of the trip.


End file.
